I'll be Rooting for Richard Sherman on Superbowl Sunday, and Why You should be too

Richard Sherman, now notorious for his post NFC championship rant, is now a household name. Its not like he was exactly unknown before. He leads the league in interceptions this year and in his first 3 years as an NFL player racked up a total of 20. No one since Ed Reed has done that.

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, #25 (if you didn't know that already), is arguably the best defensive player in the league, currently...and no doubt one of the most outspoken. Sherman graduated from Stanford, in communications nonetheless, which makes me wonder if his moves aren't calculated. Well, calculated or not, they're certainly passionate, and everyone's talking about Mr. Sherman this week, no doubt.

In case you were in a coma last Sunday, and for some reason have no idea what all the buzz is about, let me summarize. Last Sunday was the NFL's Championship Sunday. It's the second biggest day in football, only eclipsed by the Superbowl itself. Two games are played, the AFC Championship and the NFC Championship, and the winners get to go to the Big Show, the Superbowl. The loser goes home, done for the season..No pressure...

In the second game played, the NFC Championship game, the game came down to the last few minutes and the 49's with my main man wide receiver Crabtree (main man because I was able to snatch him off the waiver wires a few weeks back like a stealthy fantasy ninja) were charging towards the endzone.......

..Just enough time left for Kaepernick to heave one in the back of the end zone for Crabtree to snatch.....

The ball is snapped, perfect throw....Crabtree in position....YES, YES, 49's gonna take this game and get to the Superbowl..Lookin good Kap...................wait..........what?

Then it happened. Denied. Sherman launched in the air at the last moment, perfectly timed defense, and was able to flick the ball away with the tips of his fingers (in a very acrobatic move) causing an interception, ending the game, and denying my main man Crabtree his game winning catch.

The words “Not today!” or “Not in my house!” came to mind......bummer. Major bummer, but oh well, Seahawks have the 12th man, an Awesome team, and....hey wait, …......wait just a minute, did Sherman just pat Crabtree on the butt? OH NO HE DIDNT.

OMG, he did. He just , wait what, did he just say something to Crabtree, omfg. NO HE DIDNT. Crabtree's my boy. He won my FF playoff game for me just a few weeks back....and Sherman just rubbed that play in his face....

Sherman then went on to create a “perfect storm” scenario by antagonizing Crabtree with a slap to the butt and some words no one could hear....then finished the NFL Championship day with a hat trick. The infamous post game interview where he called Crabtree out. What happened next was an all-out social media frenzy. By why? How did that happen? Most people were surprised by the frenzy. I was not.

Two back to back Championship games in one Sunday means a lot of time to cheer, drink, eat, cheer, and occasionally check online status' and twerp about how good the nachos were where one was at....everyone watching the two games with phones and tablets in hand......

And.... Seriously? he couldn't have picked a bigger moment to trigger such a social media response. I would've been shocked if there was no response. Again, Stanford Grad, very smart man, Communications major...hmmm, just saying....

Now, of course some of the comments were shocking, and discouraging but, Sherman handled the situation like a Champ.

So, why was Sherman talking so much trash to Crabtree?? Apparently, earlier in the season, Crabtree had not exactly been a gentleman at a charity where both Sherman and Crabtree were attending. Sherman didn't share the details, and wanted to keep the interview “clean”, but clearly there were some words and there was bad blood between the two.

AHA, OK, that makes sense. This was more like a scene from Rocky now. Somehow I have the feeling the word “mediocre” came into play at the charity event, as Sherman uses it as much as possible.

But who knows? I wasn’t there soooo....

Well, like most people, I didn't know the full story. Like a referee who only catches the second players response, I drew a flag on Sherman. I had missed the first punch thrown....Now that I know the story, I love the guy.

How long had he waited to bust Crabtree, and how perfect of an ending, Denied, right at the end of the NFC Championship game... “Good Game” I believe is what he actually said.

..... I can't wait for next season. What is Crabtree doing in the off season? Is he in a meat packing plant punching sides of beef like “Rocky”?

Well, the best part about this whole thing, is that there are no apologies from Sherman. He's sticking to his guns, Crabtree is still “mediocre”... I love that. FYI, this wasn't the first time Sherman's been noticed for his outspoken nature. He called out Tom Brady in the video below:

My point is this, love or hate the guy, you know who he is, and you can't deny his talent. He's a passionate player and is awesome to watch, with only 3 season under his belt, we've got a lot more trash talk coming our way :)

So on Superbowl Sunday Ill be rooting for #25 Richard Sherman, OK..... maybe not as much as Peyrton Manning (I've been a Peyton fan since his days at Tennessee, seriously)....but, If Sherman happens to make another spectacular game winning play, So Be It.

Then it was destiny.......as long as he doesn’t pat Peyton on the butt at the end of the game....

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Jeff Boettner 4 years agofrom Tampa, FL

@Chanpears, :), yep, Ive been watching the updates on Crabtree all season waiting for him to get cleared, soon as I caught the rumor, krept up in the shadows and snatched him off waivers before my competition was even awake lol. Paid off two weeks later. Thanks for the compliments, yeah, Sherman a smart guy, he may not have planned his outburst, but he def gonna capitalize on it.

@lions44 -- exactly. I could tell he was a nice guy as soon as I saw the cnn interview. I have a feeling hes gonna be on TV a lot in the next few years, he is after all a communications grad as well. Thanks for stopping by!

CJ Kelly 4 years agofrom Auburn, WA

I live here in the NW and Sherman is a nice guy. He's more a nerd than "thug." And much of it is an act. He's great at what he does and will spend tremendous amounts of time with the fans whenever he makes an appearance. While I would not taunt my opponents, you have to be a little crazy to play in the NFL. It's the nature of the game. He just wears it on his sleeve. Voted up.

Chanpears 4 years ago

"Like a stealthy fantasy ninja" This and other quotes in the article made me laugh. I'm on the NFL website and I've seen so many comments about how Sherman is a bad person and such, but I have to agree with you here. I didn't know the full story either and even when I didn't, I didn't mind seeing his reaction. It's football, it's an emotional game. Everyone isn't going to be tight lipped and respectful all the time. And personally I'm okay with that. Especially if you put up numbers like Sherman. Great read, it made me laugh and helped me feel justified lol

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Jeff Boettner 4 years agofrom Tampa, FL

Hi mschilling20, your right about him being able to back it up. And you brought up a very good point...he's not making low hits and goin' for the knees, he's getting their minds.....awesome, he'll be fun to watch this Sunday :) , thanks for stopping by!

Matt Schilling 4 years agofrom Pittsburgh, PA

He is obviously a very outspoken player. His trash-talking will always be around and while some people/players don't like it, he can back it up. Being drafted in the 5th round didn't humble him, it created him. He's not interested in hurting a player physically, just mentally during a game. The only problem I have with it is that he's putting a big target on his back. If he makes a mistake, he has to own up to it and admit it. And I feel like he will. Great article.